Chuck Vs The Band Nerds
by Amelia Wolfson
Summary: He is the first chair, and only male, flutist in his school's orchestra. She is satisfied fading into the middle of her second violin section of her own orchestra. What happens when our favorite band nerds meet in competition?
1. Chapter 1

"Alright, gentlemen, grab your cases and load up!" Big Mike hollered, banging on the doors of the rooms that the boys had been assigned that weekend. His wife, Gladys, had convinced him to help chaperone the Van Nuys High School band's competition. She was the associate band director that year and one of the male chaperones had pulled out at the last minute. He watched as the boys, carrying solid and soft sided cases of varying sizes, with their backpacks slung over their shoulders, slowly made their way out of their rooms and down the hall to the elevator that would carry them to the lobby where their busses were waiting. All were dressed in the black suits that were the uniform for the band, some still had their ties loose around their neck, some were stuffed in pockets, but the majority of the young men knew the deal as the group that Big Mike was responsible for were made up of the upperclassmen of the group.

He knew why his wife had asked him to come with, he knew a great many of them from various places. Some went to their church, a handful were their nephews and their friends, and a few of them worked for him after school at the Encino BuyMore where he currently worked as the assistant manager. His wife had been offered the position as the head band director at Burbank High School. There was rumor that a general manager position at the Burbank BuyMore would be opening up soon. He'd put in his application and was waiting to hear back to see if they would allow for him to transfer. Once all the rooms had been vacated, he headed down to the lobby to join the rest of the chaperones to do a head count.

There were two groups and their corresponding chaperone on each bus, the groups had been preassigned in advance of the trip. The bus his group was on had two of the boy's groups on it, which had made for a very rowdy two-hour drive to San Diego the night before. Normally a trip of this length would only be a day, like it had been during the fall when they had joined other schools in field show competition, but this competition was a full weekend, necessitating the school to put the students up in a hotel. Luckily the room blocks had been put aside a year in advance, as there was some hullabaloo going on down at the convention center that weekend that had booked out all the hotels in the area. The chaperones and students were gathered in the ballroom that had been set aside for the band's morning and evening meals, enjoying their morning meal when Mr. Dunn, the head director got everyone's attention. "All students and chaperones of the Van Nuys High School Band, please made your way to the lobby to load up on the busses. Percussion and large brass sections, please meet me next door to load up your instruments in the truck!"

Big Mike rolled his eyes at the clamor that the group made, clearing their places and making their way to the room next door and the busses. The cacophony of groups chit-chatting as they went on their way. He and the other chaperone had beat their students to their assigned bus, greeted each other and waited, clipboards in hand for their students to board the bus. As each student arrived, the few with smaller instruments, carried their instrument cases with them while those with larger instruments would load their carrying cases in the storage hold of the bus then check in with their assigned chaperone who would mark off that the student had boarded the bus.

From start to finish the process took about 20 minutes and soon they were on their way to James Buchannan High School who was hosting the band competition. The trip to the school was fairly quick, a 25-minute ride across town. The chaperones had been warned the return trip would take a bit longer as there was expected to be traffic in the area as the event downtown was known to attract large crowds. Unfortunately, the high school hosting the competition was not more than a few miles from the convention center, which would make their return trip take much longer. Before long, they had arrived at the school.

The students of the various schools who were competing were more or less free to roam the campus so long as they were back in the auditorium by the call time for their group. Being that it was spring break for the district, the school itself was fairly vacant. Each school had a few rooms assigned to it for storage of equipment and for the students to hang out in if they didn't want to stay in the auditorium the whole time. It hadn't taken long for one of the rooms to become video game central as a few of the young men had brought consoles with them and had taken it upon themselves to hook them up to the television monitors in the classrooms. It was nearing time for the school's preliminary performance and nearly all the students were accounted for except for a small handful.

Gladys had sent Big Mike to go find them, not that there was any doubt in his mind as to where the students might be. As he neared the classroom, he could hear a group of male voices interspersed with some female shouting and cheering. He threw open the door, allowing it to bang against the wall, catching the attention of a few of the students who were gathered around two young men with controllers in their hands.

"Grimes! Bartowski!" He shouted, knowing that it had to be them at the center of the group, "Get your butts to the auditorium, now."

He watched as the taller, lanky teen paused the game and looked at his watch then got his friend's attention, "Morgan, we gotta go."

"But we're nearly to the last check point," The shorter teen complained, scratching his already full beard.

"We can play later, little buddy," Chuck gave his friend a sympathetic look as he stood from the chair he'd been sitting in and waited for his friend to do the same. "It was nice to meet you guys, Anna, make sure they don't kill the system, it was a gift from my dad."

"Will do, Chuckles," The young Taiwanese girl who was wearing dark makeup nodded, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Chuck smiled down at her, "Alright guys, let's go."

A few of the young men sighed and joined Chuck and Morgan in collecting their instruments and equipment and following Big Mike out the door and down to the auditorium. Under the older man's careful eye, they apologized to Mrs. Big Mike for their tardiness and joined the rest of their band backstage where they quickly assembled and organized their instruments in preparation of going on stage.

"Grimes straighten your tie, boy," Big Mike frowned at the young man who ambled toward his section, fidgeting with the bowtie around his neck and checking with a classmate that it was laying straight.

Big Mike joined his wife in the audience and listened to the band play their first two pieces. Each band had prepared eight pieces, two for each stage of the competition, and Van Nuys was the reigning champion. Looking at the stage, it wasn't hard to spot his employees. Chuck, being one of the most skilled of his section, was one off from front row, center, as the first chair flute. Even with the director standing in front of them, it was easy to spot his tall frame. Morgan, although one of the shortest in his section, was also easily seen behind the kettle drums, his full beard making him stand out among his fresh-faced peers. Once their pieces were completed, the band stood, waited for their director to bow, then, in unison bowed before exiting the stage in an orderly fashion. Big Mike and Gladys made their way out of the auditorium as the stage hands, students from the James Buchannan theatre department who had volunteered their time for the event, assisted the percussion section in clearing their instruments while another set of volunteers helped the next school's percussion section set up and organize their instruments.

As they approached the group of students from Van Nuys, they heard the director giving instructions to the students who had gathered around him. The band was being given a few hours free time to eat and relax. They were given directions to the gym where those who had brought a change of clothes could change out of their concert attire and into something more casual until it was time for their next section. Food trucks had been brought in and the students were told to get lunch and be back by 2pm, dressed and ready to go for the quarter finals. Once the students were dismissed, Big Mike and Gladys made their way outside, after perusing the food trucks, the best they had found was a Bavarian looking truck that served gourmet hotdogs on a stick. Luckily, Big Mike noticed his saving grace across the street from the school. A strip mall that housed a grocery store, some smaller shops, and a Subway sandwich franchise. His mind made up, he took his wife's hand and led her across the street to get their lunch.


	2. Chapter 2

"C'mon, dude!" Morgan knocked on the bathroom door again, causing Chuck to roll his eyes, "You've been in there long enough, your hair is gonna make funny animal shapes no matter what you do, so get out so I can get ready."

"I'll be out in a minute, Morg," Chuck called back, running his hand through his wet curls trying to put them in some semblance of order. Ellie had been after him to get his hair cut but money had been tight lately since their dad left and Mrs. Grimes, who usually was a pretty reliable back up to the barber, had been busy making her niece's Quinceanera dress. Morgan still hadn't shut up about how much he didn't want to be on his cousin's court but couldn't get out of it. At least Chuck was able to get some of the residents in the Echo Park complex to sponsor his year or else he wouldn't have been able to be in the band his senior year.

Granted he preferred playing his guitar, which was laying on the bed he'd slept in the night before, to the flute his father had insisted he play in the band since he joined the program in the fourth grade. He'd complained that the flute was for girls only to be informed that his father, great uncle, and grandfather all played flute, he even had a relative who was a piper for the union army, which quickly put an end to his protests.

He didn't so much mind playing the flute now, over the years a few other guys joined the section as they got older and went from grade school to junior high and now high school. He still got the occasional taunt thrown his way, but it was okay. What red blooded, straight, male teenager would complain about being surrounded by girls all the time? The majority of the woodwinds were girls, from the oboist, Liz who sat to his right and the clarinets who sat just beyond her, to the other flutists in his section. Being first chair in the band and section leader in the overall band, it was fairly common for the other students in the sections to ask him to help them with trouble spots which led to more girls surrounding him. Sure, some guys still picked on him, but when they saw the attention he got from the girls in his section, it quickly shut them up. Morgan, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as lucky, the percussion instruments he played were still over half his height. This along with his affinity for his favorite Chinese dish, earned him the nickname 'Shrimpy,' which they both agreed was better than 'Organ.'

Satisfied that he couldn't make himself look any more presentable than he already was, he checked that his tie was straight and that his cuffs were buttoned and exited the bathroom.

"It's about time!" Morgan huffed, "I still have to shower, and Big Mike will be by any minute to call us down for breakfast."

"Sorry, Buddy," Chuck shrugged as Morgan walked past him, his concert uniform, minus his shoes and jacket in his arms along with his toiletries kit resting on top and shut the door. A moment later, he heard the shower turn on. Chuck quickly got on his shoes and tied them before double checking his backpack where he had stored his casual clothes. The band had been encouraged to bring more comfortable clothes with them for in between their competition sets. Generally, this meant a pair of nice jeans and the navy-blue polo with the school band's logo on the left breast. He checked that his shirt and jeans were still nicely folded on top of the gaming system he had in his bag and his favorite black converse shoes.

He was hoping the competition wouldn't go too late that evening. He and Morgan were hoping to score a couple weekend passes for ComicCon, which happened to be that same weekend and there was a Stargate SG-1 panel they wanted to get in to see that night. The preliminary and quarter final rounds were that day with the semifinal and final rounds being the next afternoon and the following days' morning. The rest of the time was free time for the students. The expectation was that they would stay at the school or the hotel for the duration of their stay, but he and Morgan were hoping to find a way to sneak out and down to the convention center at some point.

Big Mike rapped on their door just as Morgan exited the bathroom, his tie hanging loose about his neck as he buttoned up his shirt. "Made it just in time!" He smiled triumphantly. "You got the console?"

"Yeah, it's in my bag," Chuck confirmed, shouldering his bag and grabbing his flute case and suit jacket. "You ready to go?"

"Yep," Morgan nodded, opening his backpack and double checking his mallets were there along with his change of clothes before zipping it back up and looping it over his shoulders as he followed his best friend out the door and down to breakfast.

The ride to the host school wasn't too bad, Chuck and Morgan had spent the ride trying to devise a plan to 'escape' to the convention center so they could try to score some tickets to the panel. They'd paid close attention to the landmarks and public transportation along the ride and had a pretty good idea on how they would get from the school to the convention center that night as well as to and from the convention center from their hotel the next day. When they unloaded the busses, there was a student from the James Buchannan band who was serving as a guide to show them which classrooms would be their storage and green rooms.

Once the instruments were unloaded and the adults and other students disbursed to wherever they wished to wander, it didn't take long for Chuck's gaming console to come out and get hooked up to the television of one of the classrooms. He was only able to bring a few disks with them, so they were limited to GTA2, Resident Evil, and Medal of Honor for entertainment. Before long, word got out among the students that someone had brought a gaming system and those who were so inclined flocked to the room in question. Chuck and Morgan were, by far, some of the best gamers in the room, the only one who came close to their skill set was a girl from the Cate School outside of Santa Barbara.

Morgan claimed that she distracted him with her tales of being a Taiwanese diplomat's daughter and growing up in boarding schools such as the one she now attended. Chuck, on the other hand, called his friend out on trying to save face after nearly being killed, virtually, by the newcomer. In the end, Chuck was fairly impressed by the diminutive cello player from Taiwan and promised that he and Morgan would come and listen to her school's band perform that afternoon.

Chuck had once again joined Morgan in playing Medal of Honor when they heard the door of the classroom slam open, causing the gathering of students to jump. When he heard Big Mike's irritated voice, he checked his watch and realized Morgan, himself, and the small handful of their bandmates were late for their call time. He paused the game, handing the controller in his hand to Anna, putting her in charge of the console until his return.

The tardy group of musicians quickly grabbed and assembled their instruments or mallets, and the guys their suit jackets, before following Big Mike to the auditorium like an awkward flock of ducklings. Once backstage, they separated into their sections. Since the woodwinds, and especially the woodwinds were one of the last sections to enter the stage, Chuck had overheard Big Mike's reprimand as to his best friend's tie which was not straight. When he caught Big Mike giving him the stink eye, he quickly stifled his chuckle and found his place in line as they listened to the band in front of them complete their set and bow to the applause from the audience of proud parents, other band directors, judges, and the random miscellaneous observer.

Their set was over quickly, and if the look on their director's face was any indication, with the high level of skill their program was known for. At the director's cue, they stood as one, bowed and exited the stage. Chuck was nearly in the wings when he realized he'd forgotten his sheet music on the stand and doubled back as the percussion sections were being reset. Movement caught his eye in the stage right wing where the next band, belonging to the host school, was waiting to perform their set.

He casually looked over as he grabbed the papers and saw a girl a year or so younger than himself, holding what looked to be a violin or viola in her hand. Her shoulder length dirty blond hair was a little frizzy as if she had blow-dried it a little too much that morning. She wore the same maroon dress as the rest of the girls in her band, it had short sleeves, an empire waist with a sash that tied around her back, and a skirt the flowed down in waves to the black dress shoes she wore. The dress was flattering on her, but what really captivated him was her striking blue eyes. It was almost as if they held hidden depths beyond what she showed the world around her.

He gave her a small smile, which she returned, allowing for a brief glimpse of what must have been braces glinting in the low light of the backstage area. Seeing that the next band's percussion section was starting to bring on their instruments, Chuck quickly grabbed his music, and exited stage left where the last bit of his school's band, including his best friend, were waiting to exit into the back corridor to meet up with their director for further instruction. Once they were dismissed to the locker rooms to change, he quickly hung up his suit and slid on the jeans and polo shirt that made up his school band's casual uniform and tied his favorite black converse.

He and Morgan stopped by the classroom to drop their bags and suits and check on the video game console which was being used by a couple students from another one of the schools performing at the competition. Anna still keeping a watchful eye on the console and the gamers, looking over only momentarily to acknowledge Morgan and Chuck's presence with a brief wave and a small smile. Chuck didn't miss the goofy grin on his friend's face at the young woman's smile but chose not to say anything as he doubted that they would ever have a chance to see her again after the competition was over.

They decided to check out the food trucks in the parking lot, and quickly found the Weinerlicious Wagon and quickly ordered their gourmet corndogs and curly fries. They found a table in the outdoor quad that sat in the center of the school and sat to enjoy their meal before heading back to see if there were any noobs, they could pwn back int the classroom. Along the way they passed the auditorium; Chuck noticed the quarter finals schedule was posted near the main doors. All the bands knew when their individual schools were performing, but not really when the other schools were. He stopped to read the schedule and smiled seeing that James Buchannan was kicking off the quarter finals at 2pm followed by The Cate School. Van Nuys wasn't scheduled until 3:30, which meant he would have time to listen to Anna's band's performance as well as the mystery girl's band before having to get ready to perform, himself.

When he got back to the classroom, Morgan and Anna were locked in a fierce race in GTA2. He sat and watched them for a little bit until Morgan lost to Anna by just a hair. Although, Chuck suspected his friend eased off just a smidge at the end to let the girl win, hoping to earn her favor. Anna excused herself to go get ready for her performance. Chuck watched Morgan take on another challenger for a few minutes before letting his buddy know he was going to go watch a few of the bands perform. When Morgan nodded absentmindedly, Chuck patted his shoulder and walked over to the auditorium.

He found a seat toward the center of the room where he could see the full stage and hopefully get the best sound quality. He could see the judges in the third row, a table in front of them, blocking off four or five of the second-row seats. It didn't take long for the lights in the auditorium to dim and the stage lights to come up. Chuck watched as first the stagehands and the percussion section came onstage, setting up their instruments while the rest of the band took the stage. First the brass section, the French Horns, followed by the Trumpets, Trombones, Baritones, and Tubas. Next were the Violins, followed by the Clarinets and Bassoons, and then the Oboes and the Flutes. Last out were the Cello and Bass students. Chuck was quickly able to find the mystery girl. She was in the second-row middle of the second Violins.

As soon as the band was settled with their music in front of them, their conductor raised her hands and began directing the band. He could see the mystery girl concentrating on her music. By her placement, she was an average player, but something in him told him that might not be exactly true. He tried not to think about it as he allowed the march by Sousa that the band was playing wash over him. It was performed well and received a good amount of applause as the band shifted into their contemporary number. It was a piece Chuck was not familiar with, but the melodious tune was quite enjoyable to listen to.

Before he knew it, the band was bowing and making their way off stage. Morgan slipped in between the bands and sat as the small band from the Cate School took the stage. Chuck couldn't help but smile at how much Anna's cello dwarfed her.

"Dude, I think I'm in love with Anna," Morgan whispered to his friend.

"What?" Chuck looked over at his buddy, "You just met her."

"Love knows no time frame," Morgan countered, turning his gaze to the girl who had changed into a cobalt blue dress with sleeves that fell just below her elbows, a V-neck, fitted bodice and knee length skirt. All the girls in her band wore the same dress along with black shoes, some girls wore flats, other lower heels, Anna, of course wore 3-inch stilettos, and when she crossed her ankles, the red bottom of one of her shoes could be seen. The boys in the group had jackets the same color as the girl's dresses, white dress shirts with gold ties, and black slacks. The whole band couldn't have been more than 20 students, much smaller than the other bands performing which boasted anywhere from 45 to 75 pieces in their upper bands.

The small size of the Cate School's group did nothing to diminish their skill as they played through their two pieces. Once they were finished, the crowd applauded, Morgan even rose to his feet to give them a standing ovation while Chuck just rolled his eyes at his friend's obvious attempt at gaining Anna's attention. As the band began to clear the stage, Chuck and Morgan exited to start getting ready for their next performance. They returned to the classroom, apologized to the students still playing with the gaming console, and disconnecting it. Chuck quickly repacked it in his bag and grabbed his suit before he and Morgan made their way to the dressing rooms to change.

The Van Nuys students were instructed to place all their bags and instrument cases in the storage classroom for their group as their other two classrooms were going to be closed until the next day. Morgan and Chuck left their bags there, Morgan grabbing the cymbals he was to play in this next set as Chuck reassembled his flute. Grabbing their sheet music, they joined the swarm of other students in their band in heading backstage to line up for their performance. Chuck found the pieces that the director had chosen for their quarterfinal performance to be quite boring, but he still played them to the best of his ability. As he did so, he could had sworn he saw a familiar silhouette, now in a more casual blouse and skirt. When the lights came up, it was like she'd disappeared with the shadows.

The director freed the students to load their instruments and gear onto the busses. Since Chuck's flute case was so small and Morgan had nothing to load as the percussion equipment would be staying at the school in the storage classroom, they quickly escaped to the locker room to change back into their band polos and jeans. Once the instruments were loaded, the students began to board their busses while Chuck and Morgan began to look for their opportunity to make their escape. Unfortunately for them, Big Mike was keeping too close an eye on them to slip out unnoticed. They knew once they got back to the hotel the chaperones would not have as close of a watch on them, and even though it meant a longer trip for them that afternoon it at least gave them a chance to test the public transportation in San Diego as they were planning to make the same trip the next day and had stored their suits in one of the empty lockers of the host school.

As predicted, the trip back to the hotel took longer than that morning due to the extra pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the convention center. As soon as they arrived at the hotel, the students and chaperones made their way to their rooms to change. Since space was limited in their suitcases, Chuck and Morgan were unable to dress up for ComicCon and opted instead to wear nerdy shirts. Chuck was wearing a black t-shirt with images of C-3PO and R2-D2 wearing the old school prop glasses with the fake moustache and large nose and the words 'These are not the droids you're looking for… move along.' Written on the front. Morgan wore a red shirt with what looked like the Star Fleet com badge on the left side of his chest and dark spots that looked like blaster burns in various areas of the shirt and 'I almost made it' written on the back.

They made sure to grab their wallets and keys before making their way down to the first floor by the stairs and slipping out the side exit. They made it to the bus stop just as the city bus was pulling up to unload some passengers. Stepping aboard, they paid their fare, making sure to get their transfer slip from the driver and made their way to a couple seats about midway back. Two transfers later, they were walking up to the convention center. It was a mass of activity, people walking around, some in costume, some not. Many carried bags with the current year's logo on them. They made their way to the will-call desk to see if there were any day-of passes left. Luckily for them there were a handful of two-day passes left that would allow them access for that night and the next day.

They quickly exchanged what amounted to a good chunk of their paychecks for the passes which they looped over their necks and made their way inside looking for the Stargate panel they were hoping to catch. It was only by the skin of their teeth that they made it into the hall along with two others who had been in line behind them. An hour and a half later, they were exiting the hall, excited for the upcoming series that was supposed to be starting the next fall. After browsing a few of the stalls, they headed back out to catch the bus in hopes of making it back to the hotel before curfew.

They had just enough time to get into their room and change into their pajamas before Big Mike came knocking on their door for bed checks. Seeing the teens in sleep pants and t-shirts, he wished them good night and moved on to check the next room.

"Good night, Darlin'," Jenny heard her father's light Texan drawl from outside her bedroom door as she got ready for bed.

"Good night, Daddy," She called back, sliding under the covers of her bed and turning off the light before laying back against her pillow to try to sleep. She lay there for a long time, rest not coming, as she thought back to that afternoon. She couldn't shake the memory of the boy with the hypnotizing hazel eyes and adorable smirk who had rushed back on stage after his band had exited to grab his sheet music. When his eyes met her, she had almost forgotten how to breathe. Those eyes felt like they could see right through her to the depths of her soul. Later that evening when his band performed again, she knew when he'd spotted her from the stage. She hadn't been able to resist getting one more look at him before returning home. Across a stage or the auditorium was as close as she dared get to him for fear that being near him would cause all her secrets to spout forth from her, unrestrained.

There was just something about him that made her want to tell him her deepest, darkest secrets. How she was a con artist like her father, how she'd had so many names, she couldn't remember who she was any more, and how she desperately wished to live a normal life like their peers. If she knew anything, she knew she'd have to steer clear of him for the rest of the weekend, but the real question was, did she want to?


	3. Chapter 3

The alarm woke the boys up early the next morning and they quickly got dressed for the day. Morgan had pulled on a grey t-shirt with a picture of Darth Vader holding out a chocolate chip cookie in his outstretched hand and text that read 'Come to the Dark Side, we have cookies.' Chuck was once again in the bathroom, making sure his curls weren't too wild before quickly shaving and pulling on a navy-blue t-shirt with the pale blue and white backgrounded silhouette of Dr. Sam Beckett in the Quantum Leap accelerator. On the back was simply 'Oh, Boy' written diagonally in a light blue script with grey shadowing. They quickly packed their backpacks with what they thought they might need for the day and pulled on zip-up hoodies to cover their shirts. Chuck had grabbed his guitar, as he'd learned early on that it helped to pass the time if there was a lull or he was sitting in a long line for a panel.

The teens made their way out of the hotel the same way they had the night before and made their way to the convention center. They checked out the _Starship Troopers_ and _Kevin Smith_ panels before going their separate ways to do their own thing until their agreed upon meet up time at 4pm to go over to James Buchannan High School for the semi-final performances. Since Chuck didn't have much in the way of money, once purchasing his weekend pass, he began to wander. Seeing that the ferry to Coronado Island was about to depart and the cost of a ticket was well within his reach, he boarded the ferry and rode over to the island. He checked the time schedule of the return ferry and got directions to the beach. The walk to the beach didn't take more than 20 minutes and soon he was sitting on the sand, guitar case next to him, watching the waves.

He was about to explore a bit more when he heard the feintest sound of a melody on the breeze, looking around he found the source of the sound and made his way towards it. A large group of people were gathered around a young girl whose dirty blonde hair had been twisted back in funky rows, her eyes closed as she played a beautiful melody on her violin, body swaying with every rise and fall of the piece. Her instrument case lay on the ground in front of her, a few bills and coins already having been thrown in by passersby. Chuck stood and listened as the girl played Adagio in G minor with such passion it nearly brought tears to his eyes. When the piece was concluded, he clapped and let out a loud whistle. The girl's eyes shot up to him as she blushed prettily, and he was instantly rendered mute as he found himself enraptured by the same captivating blue eyes from the day before.

The girl's shocked look faded quickly as she turned to acknowledge her other fans with a small bow of her head before picking up her violin once more and starting to play a faster paced tango. After a minute or two she turned to him, her eyes drifting down to the guitar case in his hand then back to him. She gave him a small smirk and a look as if asking if he could really play the instrument or if it was just there for show. When he smiled back, her smirk turned into a grin, revealing her braces, as he came closer, laying his backpack and guitar case on the ground and pulling out the guitar, throwing the strap over his shoulder and setting the fingers of his left hand over the frets while his right arm draped over the waist of the instrument and his right hand began to pick at the strings that were drawn tight centimeters over the sound hole. He began to improvise until he got the feel of the piece and they made their way through Libertango a couple times before ending with a flourish to the applause of the onlookers.

"Do you know Hallelujah?" Chuck whispered to her under his breath. When she nodded, he gave her a small smile, "Follow me." She nodded as he began to strum the first few bars of the song before she came in playing the melody. As they played through the first verse Chuck began to hum along and by the time they got through the chorus, the girl gave him a small nod raising the first finger of her bow hand to indicate for him to start from the first verse. Chuck nodded back and began to sing from the top, it was clear that neither the girl nor their audience expected to hear the warm baritone voice that came from the young guitarist.

The girl stared in wide eyed amazement at the young man beside her as she stopped playing once they reached the fifth and final verse. His hands had likewise stilled on his instrument as he sang the last verse acapella. His eyes closed, face peaceful, but his voice rich and moving. All she could think as she listened to him was, _Who hurt you?_ When he'd sang the last note of the chorus, his eyes slowly opened, a broad smiled spreading across his face, and she found herself looking into the most soulful eyes, as she wiped the stray tears that had fallen at his rendition of the classic song. She noticed some of the audience doing the same as they cheered, whistled, clapped, and practically fell over each other to toss money into their open cases.

"Well that was kind of depressing," Chuck joked, earning a small smile from the violinist, "How about we liven things up?"

She nodded and started playing the first part of dueling banjos and raised her eyebrow at Chuck in challenge, he grinned and played the response. They went back and forth a few times before the girl got an evil smirk and when it came back around to her turn, she started playing the opening to 'Devil Went Down to Georgia.' Chuck threw his head back and laughed as he rose to the challenge and joined in. Soon after he began to sing.

"_The devil went down to Georgia  
He was looking for a soul to steal  
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind  
And was willing to make a deal._

_He came across a young gal  
Sawin' on a fiddle and playing it hot  
Devil jumped up on a hickory stump  
And said 'Girl lemmie tell ya what,'_

_ I guess you didn't know it  
But I'm a fiddle player too  
And if you care to take a dare  
I'll make a bet with you._

_ Now you play pretty good fiddle, girl  
But give the devil his due  
I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul  
'Cause I think I'm better than you_

_ The girl said my name's Jenny  
And it might be a sin  
But I'll take your bed, you're gonna regret  
'Cause I'm the best there's ever been._"

Chuck noticed how her eyes widened when he had substituted the name Jenny for Johnny in the song and figured he'd guessed her name in one. They continued through the rest of the song the best they could with a violin and an acoustic guitar once again to be met with hoots, hollers, whistles, and applause as their audience once again graced them with coins and bills tossed into their cases. When the girl moved her bow to her left hand, which was still gripping the neck of her violin, Chuck realized she was done performing. He pulled the strap of his guitar back over his head and moved the neck of the guitar into his right hand as he held his left to hers. He tried to ignore the small spark that passed between them as their hands met, shrugging it off to the static electricity from the strings on their instruments, willfully ignoring the fact that the nylon and bronze strings wouldn't conduct electricity.

"Thank you very much!" The girl called out, "We hope you enjoyed what you heard! We are Jenny…"

"And Charlie," Chuck added knowing she had not yet learned his name. As the crowd applauded them, he bowed and she curtsied, slightly. The crowd began to disburse as they collected their things and carried them over to a nearby picnic table to count their tips and put their instruments away. "That was fun." He smiled at her as he closed his case and then shouldered his backpack.

"Yeah it was," She nodded, "It was nice to meet you, Charlie."

"You too, Jenny," Chuck grinned.

"So, how did you know my name?" She asked, tilting her head as she slid her bow into the flap compartment on her violin case.

"I didn't until I saw your reaction when I used the name in that last song," Chuck shrugged, "Although, I have to admit, I was planning to ask anyway."

"It was a good guess," Jenny smiled up at him as they began to walk in silent agreement to hang out a bit longer, "You are in one of those bands that are playing at the competition, aren't you? Flute, right?"

"Yeah, I go to Van Nuys in Encino," Chuck nodded.

"You're pretty good," Jenny grinned, as they came across a less populated stretch of beach. She kicked off the white keds she was wearing and walked barefoot out onto the sand, taking a seat, crossing her bare feet at the ankles and tucking her knee length skirt around her thighs. Chuck noticed there was a pattern of small purple and pink flowers on her skirt that matched the light purple tank top she wore under her grey cardigan, "I got to hear some of your preliminary and quarter finals performance."

"Thanks," Chuck blushed, sitting next to her. He dug his feet into the sand, knees bent in front of his chest, casually, while he rested his forearms on his upturned knees, his shoes, socks stuffed inside of them, sitting on top of the guitar case that now sat on his other side, "You're pretty good too, which makes me wonder why you are seated in the middle of the second violins when you are clearly better than the first chair in the first violins."

"It's kind of a long story," Jenny shrugged, then changed the subject back to Chuck, "What was that piece you guys played in the first round where you only played like two or three notes at a time and it kept passing around the band?"

"Resonance," Chuck nodded, "It was pretty fun to learn, honestly, I think it would be a fun one to do for fall season, but I'm graduating this year, so I won't know if my director ever uses it."

"So that makes you, like what, 17, 18?" Jenny asked.

"18, last September," Chuck shrugged, "You?"

"I'm 16; I'll be a junior next year." Jenny provided, "So, what are your plans after graduation?"

"Stanford," Chuck shrugged, "I created an encryption algorithm that could make the transfer of sensitive files between servers more secure. My sister just started medical school this year, and was talking about how there has been a push for better security for patient records. I began to think about how to make it easier for doctors who are treating the same patient to send records back and forth without breaking patient confidentiality. I submitted it to my coding teacher for my final project and he brought it to the attention of some of his contacts at Stanford who offered me a full ride."

"Impressive," Jenny lifted an eyebrow, "You're some kind of computer geek, aren't you?"

"Nerd," Chuck corrected, "I prefer the term nerd, but yeah. I'm pretty good with computers. I come by it honestly, my dad was really into computers, too."

Jenny looked up at him, tilting her head in curiosity, "'Was?'"

"He, uh, well he left a few years ago," Chuck hedged, staring out at the water, "Said he was gonna get some stuff to make us pancakes. Left for the store and just never came back, just poof, gone without a trace."

"So, just you, your sister, and your mom?" Jenny asked.

"No," Chuck shook his head slightly, "Mom left when I was nine. Told us she was going on a business trip and would be back in a few days. After a month, we realized she was probably never coming back."

"I'm sorry," Jenny gave him a sympathetic look.

"It's okay," Chuck shrugged, "I mean we got by okay. Dad kinda shut down after Mom left. He was there and he would interact with us and stuff, but he wasn't really present. It's been me and Ellie against the world for a long time now, oh and Morgan, but that's really all we need, you know?"

Jenny nodded and looked out at the water. The teens sat there watching the surf roll in for a while before Chuck spoke again, "So, what about you?"

"What about me?" She looked over at him.

"What's your story?" He rephrased, "Did you grow up here, what's your family like?"

"Not much to tell," Jenny shrugged, "Mom and dad went splitsville when I was little. Haven't really heard from mom in a while. Lived with my grandma for a bit, my dad's mom, while he traveled for work. Sometimes I'd go with him until one day I just went with him and we never went back. Been here for a little under a year. Dad said that the plan is to stay put until after I graduate, but we'll see how that goes."

"What does your dad do?" Chuck asked.

"A little of this, a little of that," Jenny turned back to the ocean, clearly not wanting to talk more about it.

After a few more minutes of silence, Jenny spoke again, "I always loved the beach, it's never the same, it's always changing… it's so beautiful, and peaceful, but the crash of the waves is so violent."

"A constant contradiction," Chuck supplied.

"Yeah," Jenny nodded, a small smile on her face realizing the boy next to her got her.

"There's this place near the Santa Monica Pier that I like to go and sit and just… be," Chuck spoke softly crossing his arms where they rested on his knees, "It's my thinking place when everything just gets to be too much. The crash of the waves, the constant motion seems to match the thoughts inside and helps me to put them in some semblance of order, if that makes any sense. I've always been drawn to the ocean. After Mom left and Morgan and I made ourselves sick on strawberry cheesecake, I hopped on my bike and just kept riding until I couldn't ride anymore. My dad found me a few hours later, holding onto a necklace that had belonged to my mom. The day before she left, I accidentally broke the charm that was on it. It was the outline of a little girl and boy. It was Mom's favorite necklace and I thought she didn't come back because she was mad that I'd broken it."

"Oh, Charlie," Jenny sighed, laying her hand on his left arm just above where his hand rested on his forearm, "I don't think that's why she left."

"Yeah, I know," Chuck nodded slightly, his hand absentmindedly moving to cover hers as she inched closer to him until her head rested on his shoulder. "But I didn't know that at 9 years old, you know. Took me a while to realize my mom left for her own reasons that had nothing to do with me, or my sister, or even my dad… But ever since then the beach has always been my place whenever I am having a rough time. Doesn't matter if it's bright, sunny, and warm, or cold, wet, and stormy."

"You're lucky you had a place you could go to like that," Jenny smiled up at him, "I've never really had a place I could call my own. This is the longest we've lived anywhere that I can remember."

"But all that traveling had to be fun, seeing new places, meeting new people," Chuck countered.

"Not really," Jenny shook her head, "It was a lot of long, boring car rides. Having to pack up and move short notice because work suddenly took Dad somewhere else. Always being the new kid… I've been to so many places, but never really got the chance to experience them until we got here. But even then, I really haven't had the best time here. I've read that high school is supposed to be the best time of your life," She sighed, "I just don't see it, I honestly can't wait for it to be over so I can get on with my life, figure out who I am."

"Jenny," Chuck turned toward her, squeezing the hand that was already in his and pulling his arm out from under her hand to wrap it around her shoulders, "You already know who you are."

"Really?" She scoffed, "How would you know?"

"Because I know who you are," Chuck smiled softly at her, and pressed her hand to his heart, "In here. It's like I've known you even before I met you."

"Then tell me, Charlie," Jenny challenged, "Who am I?"

"You are a strong, proud, smart, woman," Chuck started, "You feel deeply, but are afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve because you have been hurt before. You have a beauty that radiates from within that draws people to you like nothing else."

Jenny snorted at this and looked down. Chuck shook his head as he removed his arm from her shoulders and shifted to kneel in front of her, using his left hand to nudge her chin up until her eyes met his, "No, you _are_ beautiful, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Your eyes are absolutely captivating, they were the first things I noticed about you when I saw you yesterday. I could stare into them forever and never grow bored."

"Charlie," She gasped as he leaned closer and gently pressed his lips to hers. She felt her eyes flutter closed as heat rose to her cheeks. When he pulled back a little, she could still feel his warm breath against her now damp lips. Her eyes slowly opened, meeting his rich hazel eyes that held so much in them that they were like fathomless pools. It was like she was drowning, but she didn't care.

"We should get going," Chuck spoke softly, breaking her trance. He stood and offered his hand to her, helping her up. "I don't know about you, but I have to go find Morgan over at the convention center before we head over to the school. We're already going to be in a lot of trouble for sneaking off the way we did."

"You snuck off?" Jenny smiled up at him, "A musician, a nerd, and a bad boy, you are truly something else, Charlie."

Chuck smirked at her, taking her hand in his and walking them back up to the path where they slid on their shoes before he took her hand in his once more, "We didn't want to miss ComicCon, it just so happened to fall on the same weekend as the competition. We save up all year to go, the past couple years Morgan's mom has driven us down for a day, and when we found out we would be here all weekend, we jumped at the chance to see more. The thing is that our hotel is kinda far away, and we weren't really supposed to leave. I have a feeling we're probably going to get an earful from Mrs. Grimes and Ellie when we get back to Encino."

"I'm glad I'm not in your shoes," Jenny teased him, "My dad doesn't much care what I do, so long as I don't draw much attention to myself. Speaking of," She stopped and pulled her hand from Chuck's as she pulled the clips from her hair, she ran her fingers through it smoothing the twists until her hair fell straight to her shoulders once more. Her hair not as frizzy as the day before, but windblown from the occasional gust of breeze off the ocean.

Chuck couldn't help himself; he ran his hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear, "You are so beautiful."

"No, I'm not," Jenny blushed, looking down.

"Yes, you are," Chuck insisted, cupping her cheek as he bent to kiss her once more. "You're a good kisser, too."

"That's rather surprising," Jenny countered, "Haven't had much, or any, practice at it. Luckily, I have a good teacher, you're not bad yourself, Charlie."

"Are you telling me that I was your first kiss?" He chuckled lightly, causing her to blush and look away, "Oh God, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad… I was just surprised because of how good you are. I figured you had a lot of experience," He stopped, realizing the implication of his words, "Wow, oh, wow, that totally came out differently than I meant. I mean you are so incredibly amazing, that I find it hard to believe no one has ever kissed you before." He stood awkwardly for a moment more, "Truth be told, I've only ever kissed one other girl in my life that wasn't a family member or the girl playing Hodel. I went on a date with this girl Trish last year, it was bad, but I still went in for the kiss at the end of the night. Her dad opened the door just as it started, interrupting us… I was so startled I butted heads with her, which gave her a bloody nose. Needless to say, she never spoke to me again."

Jenny looked up at him and the adorable flush that rose to his cheek before she smirked then smiled, before finally, throwing her head back laughing. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but I can just see that happening almost as if it were in some bad slow-mo moment."

"You mock my pain?" He challenged, arching an eyebrow at her as he dropped his backpack and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her into him.

"I would never!" Jenny's eyes widened theatrically as she teased him back. "I mean you clearly have improved since then."

"I'll show you improved," Chuck crashed his lips to hers, hearing her moan against his lips as he deepened the kiss, tracing his tongue over her lips in a silent request for access. When her lips parted slightly, he took his time tasting, nibbling, and exploring the best he could. He felt her hand, the one not holding her violin case, trace its way from his bicep where it had come to rest when he'd pulled her into his arm, and bury itself into the thick curls at the back of his head.

They heard applause and cat calls from those who passed them, causing them to slowly end their kiss, but only momentarily. Jenny saw Charlie get a mischievous glint in his eye as he bent to set his guitar case on the ground next to him. Before she knew what was happening, he had wrapped her into his arms once more, pulling her across his body, and tipping her back, kissing her much like the statue that she had only just realized they were standing in front of. This resulted in more cheers and cat calls from the people nearby.

When he had finally put her back upright, she playfully swatted his chest, "Scoundrel."

"You know you liked it," He teased, wagging his eyebrows at her, melting her resolve, as he bent to pick up his guitar case and backpack before offering his hand to her once more. She looked at him dubiously for a moment before rolling her eyes and placing her smaller hand in his as they continued to walk back toward the ferry landing, chatting about this and that. "Hey, I just realized, I'm heading back to the ferry, but I have no idea if you live on the island or if you need to take the ferry to get home or…"

Jenny lifted the finger of the hand holding her violin case and pressed it against his lips quieting him, "Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"

"A few people," Chuck mumbled against her finger, causing her to chuckle.

"I have to get across the harbor too, I live a few blocks from the school and still need to go change for the competition, which I gather you probably do too." She took in his appearance from the Quantum Leap t-shirt to the jeans and converse he wore.

"Just have to change my shirt, really," Chuck shrugged, "I have my band polo in my bag. My suit, and Morgan's, are back at the school. We found a spare locker and locked our stuff in it yesterday."

"Smart," Jenny gave him an impressed look as they stepped up to the ticket booth and paid for their return tickets back to the convention center landing. They found a small bench on the top deck and enjoyed the short ride across the harbor, Jenny snuggled into Chuck's side, and Chuck's arm slung over the back of the bench seat, his fingers tracing random patterns on her shoulder. Once they'd disembarked, they shared a brief kiss goodbye and parted ways, Jenny to head home to change for that afternoon's competition, and Chuck to find Morgan.

"Dude, where have you been?" Morgan demanded, seeing his friend heading up the sidewalk around the south end of the convention center.

"Ran out of money," Chuck shrugged, "Tickets were only $5 so I hopped the ferry to Coronado Island to enjoy the beach."

"Well, your little boat trip nearly made us late," Morgan protested as they made their way to the light rail station that would take them within a block of James Buchannan High School. As they waited for the train to arrive, they quickly changed their shirts from their convention attire to the polo shirts denoting them as members of the Van Nuys High School Band. Arriving at the school, Morgan looked up at his best friend, "How much trouble do you think we're gonna be in?"

"Depends on how much attention Big Mike wants to bring to it," Chuck shrugged as they entered the school and attempted to fade into the crowd.

"Bartowski!" They heard over the din of the crowd, "Grimes! Where the hell have you two idiots been?" Chuck tried hard not to look at the girl with the indigo eyes and once more frizzy hair smirking at him from the end of the hall.


	4. Chapter 4

As predicted, Chuck and Morgan had to endure a lecture from their boss and chaperone who, also as predicted, had not told his wife about the two of them missing from the transport to the school. While in the present, it was a relief, they knew that he would be making life at work for them a little more difficult until he was satisfied that their punishment was complete. For Morgan that usually involved being put in the hole, for Chuck, it meant having to help the nerd herd while not actually being a herder. It seems the current electronics specialists were especially lazy and tended to have quite a backlog of computers and equipment waiting to be repaired. When Big Mike was especially upset with Chuck, it usually ended with Chuck in the cage until the backlog had been cleared by his hands alone.

"Do you mind telling me where you two idiots were?" Big Mike demanded.

"ComicCon, Sir," Morgan muttered.

"Comi-what?" Big Mike scowled.

"ComicCon," Chuck spoke up, "It's basically a convention for nerds, they have panels for movies, tv shows, and personalities that would appeal to Sci-Fi and fantasy fans. There are also vendors promoting those types of shows as well as comics, anime, games, and the like…" Realizing Big Mike didn't really care, he cut his explanation off short, "It's in town this weekend, we figured since we had the morning free, we'd check it out before coming here."

"Your lucky I didn't call your sister, Bartowski," Big Mike reprimanded, "Or your mama, Grimes. I ain't gonna tell Mrs. Big Mike either, she doesn't need that stress right now. So, you know what that means, boys, you're gonna answer to me. Now I ain't gonna tell you what I'mma do to ya, because I think you already know. Once we get back to Encino, it will be 'welcome to Hell' time for you for a long while, am I understood?"

"Yes, Big Mike," The teens mumbled.

"Now go get dressed, your call time is in 20 minutes." Big Mike gestured in the general direction of the locker rooms, "And once you're done playing, I expect your butts to be in that auditorium for the rest of the night, don't much care where in the auditorium, so long as I can find ya at a moment's notice. Same goes for tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir," The boys nodded.

"Good now git!" Big Mike ordered, watching as the teens shuffled off to do as he had ordered. Once they had disappeared through the doors to the locker room, he rolled his eyes and made his way into the auditorium to sit with his wife. He was more of a Motown type of person, but some of this classical stuff was starting to grow on him.

Chuck and Morgan quickly changed and were able to drop their bags and be backstage, instruments in hand, on time for their semi-final performance. This was one of the rounds they were excited about. Their director in his wisdom had chosen a medley of Star Trek themes. Their band was soon announced, and they made their way onto the stage, making sure their sheet music was in place, stands were the proper height and they were seated correctly on stage as the audience clapped.

Chuck noticed Jenny in the wings stage right out of the corner of his eye, luckily, she was hidden in shadow and by the folds of a curtain where Morgan didn't see her as she blew a small kiss and gave a small wave to Chuck. He gave her a soft smile and nod back and turned his attention to his director for their next set.

As they exited the stage, he lagged a bit as the band rushed through the backstage area to go to wherever it was, they wanted to go. Thankfully, Morgan was so focused on getting back into the auditorium so as to not make his punishment from Big Mike worse, he didn't notice his best friend was delayed.

Jenny had been waiting in the wings for Chuck, listening to his band play, and acknowledging why this was the band to beat in competition. She knew her school wasn't going to beat them, but she didn't care. As Chuck passed by, she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him in to a hidden alcove in the backstage areas. Pushing him up against the walls she grabbed the lapels of his jacket and rose up to her toes to press a kiss to his lips. "Hi," She whispered.

"Hey, yourself," Chuck wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling the soft crepe fabric of the dress and the smooth satin of the sash under his fingertips. Jenny could feel the cool metal of his flute pressed against her spine as he held her and lowered his lips once more to capture hers.

"You wanna go somewhere?" She asked.

"Can't," Chuck shook his head, "Big Mike has me on lock down, I have to be in the auditorium at all times for the remainder of the competition unless I'm changing before or after a performance."

"Anywhere specific in the auditorium or just in the auditorium in general?" She gave him a mischievous smile.

"Anywhere in there, he just has to be able to see me at a moment's notice if he looks between sets." Chuck shrugged, "I do have to put my flute away first, though."

"I have an idea, come with me." She took his hand and led him by a back way to the room his band was using for storage where he quickly dismantled his flute. Jenny then led him down a disserted hall, entering the auditorium by way of a dark side entrance.

Chuck smiled as she led him up the steps to the back of the house, and into the balconies where they could hide in the shadows but would still be seen if someone were to glance back with the lights up. Finding a couple chairs in the back corner they took their seats to listen to the rest of the bands performing. They spent the time together quietly chatting about anything and everything, although Jenny made a focused effort to not mention the fact that she and her father were con artists. It wasn't something she was proud of and she was still trying to figure out a way to get out of that life but was at a loss as to how to do so.

On the numerous breaks between conversation, they spent their time making out in the shadowed balcony, although when the lights came up, they attempted to make themselves look presentable in case some chaperone or another happened to look their way. After a few bands, Chuck was a little surprised that his little buddy hadn't come looking for him, but secretly hoped his friend was elsewhere in the auditorium trying to get Anna's attention. He knew that it would take his friend a while to work through the creepy stalker phase to adorably persistent, although this tactic had not yet worked for Morgan, it didn't stop the bearded young man from trying.

Jenny's band was the last to perform that evening so when the band before hers began to take the stage, they made their way down from the balcony and into one of the side alcoves to say their goodbyes as they knew that after the last performance Chuck would immediately have to collect his things and get on his bus back to his hotel. They made plans to meet up the next morning, shared a kiss, and Chuck wished her good luck and watched her exit.

He made his way back into the main auditorium and quickly found Morgan sitting alone a few rows from the back of the main house on the other side of the auditorium from the balcony where he and Jenny had just spent the last hour or so talking and making out. Taking his seat, he casually cast a glance toward where he had been sitting just minutes before and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that the balcony from the light booth blocked that area of the balcony seating from sight.

"Dude where have you been?" Morgan whispered as the lights went down.

I was around, buddy," Chuck assured him, "It was dark when I got back from putting away my flute. I found a place to sit and it just took me a little while to pin down where you were sitting. I came over as soon as I could."

"Okay," Morgan nodded and turned back to the band on stage, before leaning back to his friend and taking a big sniff. "Dude, are you wearing cucumber melon body spray?"

"What?" Chuck looked at his friend in disbelief, "First of all, I don't know what you are talking about, and secondly, you sniffing me is all kinds of weird and considering it's you we're talking about here, that's really saying something compared to your normal level of weirdness."

"Sorry," Morgan shrugged, "Must be someone else."

"Must be," Chuck turned back to the stage, hoping that his little buddy wouldn't probe too much more. When the James Buchannan High School band took the stage, he saw Jenny scan the crowd until she saw him and gave him a wink before taking her seat. He listened to the pieces they played, trying to hear her instrument above all the rest, but unable to do so as she was surrounded by 6 other people playing the same part.

It was late by the time they had arrived back at the hotel and Morgan announced he was going to take his shower before bed. Chuck nodded his understanding and changed out of his suit and into his pajamas. He smiled as he realized the jacket of his suit and the collar of his dress shirt both smelled like the cucumber melon spray that Jenny had worn. He quickly spritzed both items with his cologne, hoping to mask the smell and hung it up in his garment bag to take with him the next morning since he planned to wear his jeans and polo shirt the next day. Van Nuys was the fifth band of the nine there to play the next day and so had a lot of down time for which he wanted to be comfortable.

He was already in bed, reading an Ex Machina graphic novel when Morgan returned, dressed in his own pajamas and carrying his suit to the closet to hang up. Morgan pulled out an Iron Man comic and settled into his own bed. They read until Big Mike came by for bed check, exiting once he was satisfied the boys were both there. Soon after, they put down their books and settled in for the night.

The next morning was a flurry of activity for the students of Van Nuys High school, not only was their final competition that morning, but they were heading back to Encino once the award ceremony was over that afternoon, which meant that they not only had to load up the busses with their attire and instruments for competition, but the other luggage they had brought with them. Morgan and Chuck had already been informed by Big Mike that they were, in no uncertain terms, to not bring Chuck's gaming system as he expected them to both be present in the auditorium for the entirety of the competition, with the obvious exceptions of changing for their performance and the hour or so they would have for lunch.

Once the busses were loaded up, they headed once more to James Buchannan High School. It didn't take long for instrument cases and garment bags to be unloaded from the busses and taken into their designated storage room. The room had temporary clothing racks for them to hang their garment bags on until it was time to go change, and as everyone was getting organized, Morgan was pulled away by the percussion section leader who informed them that he wanted them to run a few sections from the pieces they were playing that day and a cadence for the Wagner-composed march that was to be their closing number.

The section leader was concerned that those sections had been shaky in rehearsal lately and wanted them to be as close to perfect as they could get before going on stage. After explaining why he would be absent to Big Mike, Morgan followed the rest of his section to the room where the percussion equipment was being held to rehearse. This, of course, provided Chuck with an easy way to get away to meet Jenny.

His first thought when he found her in the balcony seats that they had occupied the night before, was that she was absolutely adorable. Like most of the students at the school that morning, she wore a maroon polo shirt embroidered with her school's logo and a khaki skort, when he sat down next to her, he couldn't help but smile at the maroon low top Chuck Taylors she was wearing. "Hey beautiful," He smiled down at her, "Come here often?"

"Goofball," She laughed, bumping his shoulder with her own. She smiled up at him when he lifted the arm rest between their seats and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. She could smell the soap he had used that morning and the light spicy notes of his cologne, the smell taking her back to the time they spent in a similar position on the beach the day before. It was a little bittersweet for the both of them as they knew once the weekend was over, even if they tried to stay in touch, they probably would never see each other again.

Trying to not dwell on the sadder side of their limited time together, they chose to enjoy the time they had left. They alternated between talking, listening to the bands and making out until it was time for Chuck to get changed for his band's performance. Once he was dressed, he returned with his flute case, which he left with her when he departed once more to meet with his band for their final performance.

When Van Nuys's set was over, complete with a near perfect cadence compliments of the Van Nuys percussion section, Jenny met Chuck backstage, pulling him into an alcove to show him just how proud she was of his solo performance in Michael Sweeny's Earth and Sky. There was a band between his band and hers, so once she gave him his instrument case back, she had to run quickly after to join her band for their performance. Chuck watched her from backstage, awestruck at how much she got into her performance. How none of her section or her director realized how talented she was, was beyond him. He smiled as she swayed as she floated her bow across the strings of her violin, fingers dancing along the frets like little ballerinas.

As her section passed by him on their way off stage, he grabbed her arm and swiftly pulled her into their alcove, causing a small squeak to come from her lips as he pinned her against the wall and kissed her passionately, his hands playing along her sides and back as he deepened the kiss. They stayed there while the last band played their set, slipping out of the backstage area just after the band's second piece began, and heading down to the locker rooms to change back into their casual uniforms.

Jenny followed Chuck to his bus where the rest of his band were loading up their instruments, she waited just outside the door as Chuck quickly ran up the steps and half way down the aisle to the seats he and Morgan had claimed for the trip, leaving his flute case on the seat and bounding back down the stairs once more to meet up with her again. Since there was no way to avoid Morgan once he was done helping load the percussion equipment into the box truck, and he and Jenny didn't want to part ways just yet, Morgan joined them for lunch.

Chuck and Morgan had previously made plans to meet up at Subway, and that's where he and Jenny were waiting when Morgan arrived, slightly flushed from moving the heavy instruments in the hot truck. Chuck waved at him from where he sat, his back to the soda fountain where Jenny was filling their drinks when Morgan came in. Morgan quickly ordered his surf and turf special before walking over to join him.

Chuck saw his friend's eyes widen as his gaze drifted past Chuck's shoulder, "Stop the presses!" Morgan gasped, "Who's that? Vicky Vale?"

Chuck turned to see who his friend was looking at and saw Jenny walking towards them, two drinks in her hand, they smiled at each other as she slid into the booth next to Chuck and he slid her sandwich, a six inch toasted Italian BMT with provolone that had been topped with spinach, tomato, mayo, oil, and vinegar, before opening up his own meatball and provolone sub.

"Morgan," Chuck looked from his friend to the girl beside him, "Meet Jenny. She plays violin in the James Buchannan band. I ran into her yesterday and thought I would invite her to join us since she was going to eat alone."

"It's nice to meet you, Morgan," Jenny offered her hand to the short, bearded, teen, "I've heard so much about you."

"Enchante, mademoiselle," Morgan kissed her hand, "What is that scent?" His eyes darted over to his friend's who suddenly had the urge to look elsewhere, "Smells kind of like cucumber melon."

"It's just some body spray I picked up at the mall, nothing special," Jenny shrugged taking her hand back.

"So, tell me about yourself, Jenny," Morgan asked, looking between his best friend and the girl his friend was clearly infatuated with, "You from around here?"

"Not really," Jenny responded non-committally, "I just moved to San Diego, my dad's work takes him all over so I'm not really 'from' anywhere."

"So how did you meet my boy here?" Morgan changed tactics realizing that Jenny wasn't going to give him more than she already had about herself.

"We ran into each other at Coronado yesterday," Jenny shrugged, "I was playing for change and saw him standing there with his guitar case and asked him to join me. We actually made out pretty well."

"'Made out,'" Morgan mused, taking a bite of his sandwich, "That's an interesting choice of words."

"Morgan…" Chuck growled a low warning to his friend.

"What?" Morgan gave his best friend a faux innocent look, "I mean you disappear for hours both at the convention center and then during the competition, your suit smelled like cucumber melon. Dude, you didn't even smell like the girl you had to kiss on stage when you played Perchik! What am I supposed to think?"

"Can we please change the topic?" Chuck pleaded, a blush rising to his cheeks.

"Fine, fine," Morgan relented, "Are you two going to keep in touch after this weekend?"

"We've exchanged numbers," Chuck gave Jenny a small smile, "We'll see how it goes."

"How is this going to impact Stanford?" Morgan pressed.

"It won't," Chuck stated definitively, a small frown on his face for his childhood friend.

"I'm actually really impressed at the scholarship he got," Jenny beamed up at the young man beside her.

"What scholarship?" Morgan turned to Chuck who blushed even deeper, if it was possible.

"I kinda got a full ride for that program I wrote," Chuck hedged, "Mr. Tomassi's friend in the engineering department convinced the alumni board to give it to me."

"Dude!" Morgan cried out, causing the other people in the restaurant to turn their way momentarily, before lowering his voice, "To steal the words of your sister's new fling…"

"Boyfriend," Chuck corrected.

"Whatever, he'll be gone soon, then I'll get my chance," Morgan rolled his eyes.

"Not gonna happen, little buddy," Chuck shook his head before turning and explaining to Jenny about Morgan's long-lived infatuation with his older sister.

"Anyway, that's awesome," Morgan grinned at his best friend, "I just wish Stanford wasn't so far away. Why couldn't Mr. Tomassi have sent a copy of your program to a friend at UCLA or UC Irvine?"

"Because Stanford has the best engineering program outside of MIT?" Chuck raised an eyebrow, "And I don't want to go to school that far away from Ellie, not after Mom and Dad both left."

"You're still gonna come back, right?" Morgan checked.

"Yes, Morgs," Chuck rolled his eyes, knowing he'd explained this several times already, "Like I've said before, every holiday and at least once every couple months besides."

"So, Morgan," Jenny cut in, "What are your plans once you graduate? You're a senior, too, right?"

"Not sure yet," Morgan shrugged, "Grades aren't good enough to get into a university, but I'm thinking about taking some classes at the community college. Chuck and I have always talked about owning our own gaming company, he's the computer whiz, so I might take some business classes so I can handle that side of things."

"Sounds like a good goal," Jenny agreed, "I look forward to hearing about your success in the future."

"Speaking of hearing about success," Chuck broke in, "We should probably head back. The awards ceremony should be starting soon."

The three teens quickly bussed their table and headed back to the school. Chuck sat, Morgan on his right side and Jenny on his left, his arm draped over the back of the latter's chair. As the judges extolled the performances of the schools represented, the students, especially the seniors in the room began to get anxious for the results. The last five schools that didn't win were announced in reverse numerical order until finally they announced what everyone was waiting for. "In third place," The first judge started, "James Buchannan High School." A cheer went up from the maroon clad students that were seated in groups around the auditorium. The judges shook the director's hand and handed him a faux marble base trophy with a single, black pillar, and a bronze star on the top.

"First runner up," The second judge spoke as the cheering from the Cougar band quieted down, "Ronald Reagan High school." A group of students in dark red shirts jumped and cheered at the announcement as their director shook the judges' hands and accepted the slightly taller red, two-pillared trophy that was topped with a silver star.

The students of The Cate School and Van Nuys High School sat in anticipation of who would win it as the head judge smiled at the crowd, "And in first place," He spoke slowly building and drawing out the anticipation in the room, "Van Nuys High School from Encino, CA!"

Simultaneous cheers and disappointed groans went up from the students dressed in their separate shades of blue as Mr. Dunn approached the head judge to accept the gold star topped, blue pillared, two tier trophy.

Jenny had rose to her feet, clapping, a moment after Chuck and Morgan leaped from their seats, hugging each other as they hooted and hollered their joy over their victory. Morgan was still leaping around, high fiving his classmates when Chuck turned towards her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I am so proud of you Charlie," She smiled up at him, placing a hand on his cheek before rising up on her toes and pressing a soft kiss to his lips, "You were great."

"Thanks, Jenny," Chuck grinned at her, "You guys did pretty good, too. Third place is nothing to sneeze at."

"Good point," She agreed, her arms still wrapped around his waist as she laid her head on his chest, enjoying these last few moments together.

The celebration was short lived as the bands and their various directors, and chaperones began to file out of the auditorium. Many students walked along with friends made from the other schools to the parking lot to load up in their respective busses and vans to return to their homes, so Jenny walking along with Chuck wasn't an unusual sight. Although the brief kiss and a hug as they promised to stay in contact was an odd sight for the majority of the Van Nuys band members who had never seen the nerdy, shy, flute section leader smile so broadly at a girl before.

Weeks and then a few months passed, Chuck and Jenny continued to talk on the phone a couple times a month so as to not rack up long distance bills. As senior prom approached, Chuck decided that he would invite Jenny up to go as his date, it took him a few weeks to work up the courage to call her and ask.

He felt butterflies in his stomach as he lifted the receiver to call her, but the butterflies turned to stones in his gut when he heard the three tones and the words that followed that would echo in his mind for a long time to come; "_We're sorry, this number has been disconnected or is no longer in service, please check the number and dial again…_"

* * *

Hey there, Chucksters! I hope you enjoyed this first section of Chuck vs. The Band Nerds! This is the first part of a 2 part series, but you get to choose which second part you want to read! Vs. DS Al Coda picks up nearly 10 years later but as they live their normal lives. Vs. The Mash-up takes another look at their potential future, only looking at how their lives in the CIA and with the Intersect impact their relationship.

For those of you who don't know about it, as I know it's not as well known about on this site, but there is a Chuck Fanfiction Facebook page. It's a little hard to find if you just search for it, so here's the link: /groups/162708254170214/

Just gotta answer a few questions and you're in! We look forward to you joining us!


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